Assessment of focused ultrasound stimulation to induce peripheral nerve activity and potential damage in vivo
Rodríguez-Meana, Bruno (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Santos Nogueira, Eva (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Trujillo-Vázquez, Sònia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Jakob, Anette (Fraunhofer IBMT (Sulzbach, Alemanya))
Udina i Bonet, Esther (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Fournelle, Marc (Fraunhofer IBMT (Sulzbach, Alemanya))
Navarro, X. (Xavier) (Institut Germans Trias i Pujol. Institut Guttmann)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	Peripheral neuroprostheses are aimed to restore loss of sensory and motor functions by interfacing axons in the peripheral nerves. Most common interfaces in neuroprostheses are electrodes that establish electrical connection with peripheral axons. However, some challenges arise related to long-term functionality, durability, and body response. Recently, focused ultrasound stimulation (FUS) has emerged as a non-invasive approach to modulate the nervous system. However, it is controversial whether FUS can induce axon depolarization. We have assessed FUS applied in vivo to the rat peripheral nerve, with two objectives: first, to test whether FUS activates peripheral nerves under different stimulation conditions, and second, to evaluate if FUS inflicts damage to the nerve. FUS was delivered with three ultrasound transducers (Sonic Concept H115, H107, and H102) covering the largest set of parameters examined for FUS of peripheral nerves so far. We did not obtain reliable evoked action potentials in either nerves or muscles, under any FUS condition applied, neither over the skin nor directly to the nerve exposed. Additional experiments ex vivo and in vivo on mice, confirmed this conclusion. When FUS stimulation was applied directly to the exposed sciatic nerve, neuromuscular function decreased significantly, and recovered one week later, except for FUS at 0. 25 MHz. Histologically, degenerating nerve fibers were observed, with a tendency to be higher with the lower FUS frequency. Past reports on the ability of ultrasound to stimulate the peripheral nerve are controversial. After testing a wide range of FUS conditions, we conclude that it is not a reliable and safe method for stimulating the peripheral nerve. Special consideration should be taken, especially when low-frequency FUS is applied, as it may lead to nerve damage.
Grants:	European Commission 899822 Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo CB06/05/1105
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Electrophysiology ; Ultrasound ; Nerve interface ; Nerve damage ; Nerve stimulation ; Sciatic nerve
Published in:	Frontiers in neurology, Vol. 15 (february 2024) , ISSN 1664-2295

DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1346412
PMID: 38481939

11 p, 3.5 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut d'Investigació en Ciencies de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles